Ethic statement:
SLRmagic is a company located in Hong Kong. I know their manager Andrew very well and I know he is continually working to meet the customers demand for m43 lenses. He contacted me to ask me if I have time to review the latest 12mm f/1.6 Hyperprime lens. I accepted the offer but warned him that I will not hide any of the negative aspects of the lens (if I would find them).

Why I need that lens:
A friend of mine (Franco Maurina) invented a new kind of theatre. The theatre takes place in a complete dark and small room. That’s why I need a fast wide angle lens. And that’s where the Hyperprime 12mm f/1.6 lens is playing the main role along my Panasonic GH2 camera. I will post this video soon on youtube but in the meanwhile I posted a few image samples and first impressions.

Vitaly Kiselev is collecting the money to buy two Panasonic GF2 cameras. His goal is to hack the GF2 camera. You can support him via personal-view.com. The GF2 hasn’t been a popular camera but with the recent massive rebates on that camera it became far more appealing. And if Vitaly will also give us a hack for it than this could be a damn good deal!

I guess soon we will know if the Olympus Camera Division will be kept alive or sold to an external company. And that would be a bad news for the whole photography industry if such a appreciated and historical company disappears. Here is the news that worries me:
Today Reuters reports that “Olympus Corp has launched a review of its business structure, according to an internal memo, amid speculation that the 92-year-old company may have to sell assets in order to survive a massive accounting scandal.“. Reuters also underlined that “Olympus’s camera business currently runs at a loss” and “Investment bankers say rivals in both the endoscope and camera markets are closely watching events unfold at the company, although prospective bidders are expected to stay on the sidelines until the situation becomes clearer.”

I know Olympus managment will try to do everything to not sell the camera division. But I don’t know if the financial situation will force them to sell everything to…Panasonic?..Samsung??? no idea

More Olympus fee scandal news:
Michael Woodford meets the FBI (Source: AP). He supports the Olympus Grassroots action (Source: AP).
A number of European banks are under investigation by Japanese authorities to determine whether they helped the management of Olympus hide irregular payments (Source: NYT).

This years NABshow will be held in mid-April. It’s the largest international digital event for audio, video, film, broadcast and communication. And it’s very likely that Panasonic will show a new successor of the AG-AF101 Micro Four Thirds camcorder. And there is a first “prediction” coming via Philip Johnston from HDwarrior: “The AF301 a direct poke at Canon C300 will have 10bit, 4:2:2 processing as seen on the HPX250 and will swap over to P2 giving us AVC Intra, I don’t see Panasonic going away from micro Four Thirds as they have invested far too much development on lenses. I hope we see a far better viewfinder and far higher resolution on version two (1000 lines +).”

New deals (with readers suggestions)

The Olympus E-Pm1 $50 discount will end tomorrow at Amazon (Click here), Adorama (Click here) and B&H (Click here).
Cyber Monday deals at Personal-View (Click here). These are deals for filmmakers (lights, stabilizers, matte box, handles, etc).
Olympus E-P1 body for $239 on BestBuy (Click here / via E-P1.net).Eric sent me this: “I thought you might like to know that Target has the Lumix DMC-GF3 Digital Camera (Black) with 14-42mm on Sale starting tomorrow – Sunday – for $399 plus a $75.00 Target gift card. So that is like $325, plus you can sell the 14-42 easily for $125 on eBay – so (if you can use a Target gift card) it is like getting a GF3 for $200: Weeklyad.target.com”Joel sent me this: “Panasonic.com is having some good sales also. Free shipping, but for some states they do charge state sales tax.GF3 is available in all colors with the 14-42 regular kit zoom at $499.99 PLUS the 14mm f/2.5 gets added for $0.01 – a great deal. Bought the camera for my wife and I’ll take the 14mm prime.G3 (black only) is available with standard 14-42 zoom for about $524 – best price I’ve seen (I bought one).GH2 with the 14-140 is a bit over $1200, a very good price for that kit.”Gary sent me this: “GF2 w/14-42 in Canada for C$289.99 at Newegg.ca”

Disclaimer

Disclaimer: 43Rumors has no affiliation with any of the equipment manufacturers mentioned on this site. Please visit their official websites by typing the specific brand name and adding .com after it in your browser. All trademarks and brands belong to their respective owners.

Here is the definition of the word “rumor” according to Merriam Webster dictionary:

Pronunciation: \ˈrü-mər\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English rumour, from Anglo-French, from Latin rumor clamor, gossip; akin to Old English rēon to lament, Sanskrit rauti he roars

Date: 14th century
1: talk or opinion widely disseminated with no discernible source
2: a statement or report current without known authority for its truth
3 archaic : talk or report of a notable person or event

Content Copyright
If you want to use any image from this website you have to ask for permission. You cannot copy more than 20 words from any of our posts. And you have to define the source with "Source: 43rumors.com" (working link).

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter and join our 367 subscribers:

*Please also check your spam folder if you don't get the confirmation mail. And mark the mail as "non-spam" to see the future newsletter.

Advertise on 43rumors

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptRead More

Share News and Rumors

Click on the Share button below to write the message!
Name and email are NOT required so you can stay anonymous. Also the IP-address will not be submitted to us. Use Imageshack to share pictures (anonymously).